Algodones Dunes/Imperial Sand Dunes
On March 22, 2002, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced
the availability of a draft plan to manage off-road vehicle use
in Algodones Dunes in southern California. The draft plan is badly
flawed. The BLM agreed in 2000 to close nearly 50,000 acres in
the Dunes to off-road vehicles in order to protect the endangered
Peirson's milkvetch plant. The BLM also agreed that this area
would not be reopened to off-road vehicles unless it developed
a permanent plan to protect the milkvetch and other endangered
species. Nevertheless, the draft plan would reopen about 40,000
acres to dirt bikes, ATVs and dune buggies without having permanent
protections in place. More
information from the BLM. For more information about the threats
to the Dunes and the flaws in the plan, contact the Center
for Biological Diversity.
Black Rock Desert - High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National
Conservation Area: On March 7, 2003, the BLM announced the
availability of a draft
environmental impact statement for this 1.2 million acre area
in northwestern Nevada. This action initiated a 90-day comment
period on the document. Information about possible management
options and how to submit comments are included in this announcement.
Department of Interior Issues "Disclaimer Rule"
- Could Give Away Public Interest in National Parks, National
Forests and National Monuments Across Country: On January
6, 2003, the U.S. Department of Interior issued a final
rule which allows the Secretary, acting through the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM), to "disclaim" - or give away
- the public's interest in its land. This rule is a thinly veiled
attempted to use a Civil War-era statute - known as Revised Statute
2477 (RS 2477) - to open Parks, Forests, Monuments and other public
lands to road building, off-road vehicle use and other development.
In addition, the rule does not allow the public to participate
in determining whether or not its land should be given away.
Northern and Eastern Mojave Desert Route Designation Process
(California): On April 18, 2003, the Bureau of Land Management
announced that it is initiating the scoping process in order to
designate "routes of travel" in the Northern and Eastern
Mojave Desert (NEMO) Planning Area within the larger California
Desert Conservation Area. Routes will be designated in an area
totaling approximately 2.75 million acres. The Federal Register
notice containing this announcement lists dates and locations
of public meetings and states that the Bureau will accept public
comment "throughout the creation of the Draft Routes of Travel
designation." FR Notice
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-9710.htm
San Rafael Swell Final Route Designation Plan: In February
2003, the Bureau of Land Management in Utah issued a long-overdue
plan
to manage off-road vehicle use in critical portions of the
San Rafael Swell. This plan was issued more than a decade after
the agency committed to addressing the severe impacts caused by
unlimited dirt bike, ATV and other off-road vehicle use. For more
information about this issue, contact the Southern
Utah Wilderness Alliance.
